[1] Japan on Monday expressed its apology and contrition for its colonial-era sexual enslavement of Korean women, and agreed to provide 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) for a foundation to be established by South Korea to support the surviving victims.

[2] The Tokyo government also said that it “felt strongly” about its responsibility for the issue “involving the Japanese military” that has been at the core of South Korea’s historical resentment toward its onetime colonizer -- from 1910-45.

[3] The move came after Seoul’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida held talks in Seoul, settling one of the thorniest sticking points in their relations and paving the way for expanding bilateral cooperation.

[2] With this, the party moved closer to its former and most recognized name “Democratic Party,” and also removed any trace of defected cochairman Ahn Cheol-soo, whose signature slogan is “new politics.”

[3] “The party decided that the title Together (‘deobuleo’ in Korean) Democratic Party, though not 100 percent in accord with public opinion, was best fitted for the current political situation,” said Sohn Hye-won, head of the party’s publicity committee.